Mandela's women by his side at end Email a friend NELSON Mandela died with the two main women of his life, wife Graca Machel, and the woman who he bitterly divorced in 1996, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, at his side. As preparations are made to celebrate Nelson Mandela's life at memorial service in Johannesburg and a funeral service in the country's south, it has also been revealed that Mandela's personally nominated successor, grandson Mandla, thought to be excommunicated from the family, was also present. FAMILY SPEAKS OF GRAVE SADNESS South Africa's Sunday Times reported that Mandela died at 8.50pm on Thursday evening, local time, with the women, Mandla and his daughter, Makaziwe in the room. The paper said he was breathing on his own, without the support of a machine. Mandela's immediate family has remained largely out of sight since the death. Some members have been shamed by ugly claims of gold-digging. News_Image_File: Nelson Mandela married Graca Machel, his greatest love, in 1998 on his 80th birthday.

Retired General Temba Templeton Matanzima, made the first public remarks on behalf of the family after Mandela died at his home in Houghton, Johannesburg, on Thursday evening, aged 95. "The pillar of the family is gone, just as he was away during that 27 painful years of imprisonment, but in our hearts and souls he will always be with us, his spirit endures," Mr Matanzima said on Saturday in Johannesburg. "As a family we commit ourselves to uphold and be guided by the values he lived for and was prepared to die for." DAY OF PRAYER FOR LOST MANDELA Soweto's 95-000-capacity FNB Stadium will be the site of a huge public memorial for world leaders and citizens on Tuesday, though there are doubts the stadium will be able to hold what is expected to be a much bigger crowd. News_Image_File: Nelson Mandela walks free from prison in February 1990 with his then wife Winnie by his side. As world leaders prepare to arrive in Johannesburg for the memorial service to Nelson Mandela, South Africans have already begun to celebrate his life, with thousands turning up outside the home where he died.

News_Module: NND Mandela Pictures Multipromo The rolling informal event has been marked by joy rather than sadness as the country braces for what may be the biggest funeral event the world has seen. What has been described as a flood of world leaders, including President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Tony Abbott, along with a swathe of dictators who also revere Mandela, is set to cause a massive headache for South Africa's security forces. News_Image_File: Members of the ANC Women's League march and sing to celebrate the life of Nelson Mandela outside his old house in Soweto. Mandela's descendants have been accused of failing to live by his example, after grandson Mandla dug up the remains of three family members who were buried in Mandela's home village of Qunu on Eastern Cape and shifted them 20km south to his home village of Mvezo. This was part of a bigger plan by Mandla, who had built a hotel and museum in Mvezo, intending that it also be the resting place of his grandfather, despite Mandela's wish that he be buried in his home village of Qunu. News_Image_File: Nelson Mandela's grandson Mandla Mandela outside his grandfather's house in Soweto.

A court ordered Mandla to return the bodies to Qunu and Mandela's final wishes to be buried there will be respected. Two of his daughters, including Makaziwe, have been accused through legal actions of trying to gain control of Mandela's wealth and to trying to profit on his name. People will have a chance to pay their last respects to him when his body will be transported in procession on Wednesday to the country's administrative capital, Pretoria, where it will lie in state before being flown by to Qunu for his funeral on Sunday. News_Image_File: Graca Machel and Nelsob Mandela attend the 2010 FIFA football World Cup final at the Soccer City stadium in Soweto.Graca Machel was seen briefly outside the Houghton residence on Sunday. She has not made any public statement as yet. Nor has Mandela's Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, who was also at one stage believed to have been exiled from Mandela's life. Their marriage had failed during his long incarceration and Ms Madikizela-Mandela, who was Mandela's second wife, faced charges of leading an orchestrated campaign of gang violence in the Soweto township.

News_Rich_Media: Vale Nelson Mandela But she visited Mandela when he was first hospitalised in Pretoria earlier this year and is understood to be on close terms with Graca Machel. Ms Madikizela-Mandela shot down rumours that towards the end, Mandela was in a virtual vegetative state. "I have heard this nonsense that he is on life support - he is not," she said last month. The Sunday Times reports that close to midnight, on Thursday night, arrived to remove Mandela's body to a military hospital. People of all backgrounds warmed up for a week of mourning outside Mandela's home in the well-to-do district of Houghton, coming together and showing why South Africa was christened the Rainbow Nation after the fall of apartheid. News_Image_File: Mourners gather outside Nelson Mandela's old house in Soweto. But it appeared to be more festive than mournful as they formed tight circles and sang uplifting songs about the man they called Madiba. They said he would not have wanted them to be sad, though one man who fought back a tear stood out among the others: a burly Afrikaans man who brought his wife and daughter to lay flowers.

The Afrikaners, or Boers, created the apartheid system that became so reviled around the world. Yet Deon Olivier, a sugar farmer from Natal, whose family grew up depending on black field hands, saw only greatness in what Mandela achieved. "We weren't brought up to be racist. Why should we run?" Mr Olivier said. "This is our country after all. "And we listened to what he was saying. He never distinguished between whites and black. He never distinguished between us. He was a great man." Graca Machel and Nelson Mandela Marriage Profile Graca Machel and Nelson Mandela Marriage Profile A Man Who Believed in Forgiveness Sign Up for Our Free Newsletters Thanks, You're in! There was an error. Please try again. Please select a newsletter. Please enter a valid email address. Did you mean ? Marriage Words and Terms Glossary - Definitions of Marriage Words and Terms Nelson Mandela and Graca Machel on August 29, 2007 in London, England. Photo: Daniel Berehulak / Getty Images For Nelson Mandela, the third time was the charm in his marriage to Graca Machel.

Graca is not only the first African woman to become a British dame, she is also the only woman to hold the title of "first lady" to two presidents from two different African nations. Here is information about their marriage. News Updates: 6/11/2010: Nelson Mandela's great-granddaughter, Zenani Mandela, died in a car crash. She was 13 years old and on the way home after attending the World Cup soccer tournament kick-off concert in Soweto. Born: Nelson Mandela aka Rolihlahla Dalibhunga Mandela: July 18, 1918 in the province of Transkei, South Africa. Graca Simbine Machel: October 17, 1945 in Incadine, Gaza, Mozambique. Died: Nelson: On December 5, 2013, Nelson Mandela died at the age of 95. continue reading below our video 5 Ways You Can Tell It is Love Wedding Date: Nelson and Graça were married on July 18, 1998, his eightieth birthday, in the presence of family, sixteen friends, and one photographer.

"They were married in the new house [in Houghton], Mandela in a gold-patterned open shirt, Graca wearing a long white dress with wide puffed sleeves, Elizabethan-style. They were blessed beforehand by the Chief Rabbi, and also by the Muslim Sheikh Nazim Mohammed and the Hindu Mrs. Nanachene. They were married by a methodist Bishop, Myume Dandala -- since they had both been brought up as Methodists -- assisted by Desmond Tutu ..." Source: Anthony Sampson. Mandela: The Authorized Biography. 2000. pg. 543. The wedding reception for Nelson and Graca was combined with Nelson's birthday party at the Gallagher Convention Centre. There were 2000 guests including Michael Jackson , Danny Glover, and Stevie Wonder. Nelson and Graca honeymooned in Argentina and Brazil and later had a private honeymoon in Qunu. Children: Nelson had four children with Evelyn Mase. Madiba Thembekile (Thembi) Mandela: Born in 1946. Thembi died in July 1969 in a car crash. Makaziwe Mandela I: Born in 1947.

She died after 9 months in 1948. Makgatho Lewanika Mandela: Born in 1950. Makgatho was an attorney. He died of Aids in January 2005. Makaziwe Mandela II: Born in 1953. Nelson: "In our culture, to give a new child the name of a deceased child is considered a way of honoring the earlier child's memory and retaining a mystical attachment to the child who left too soon." Source: Nelson Mandela. Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela. Paperback edition 1995. pg. 206. Nelson had two children with Winnie Madikizela. Zenani Mandela: Born abt. 1959. Zenani married Prince Thumbumuzi Dlamini in 1973. They reside in Boston. Zindziswa Mandela: Born in 1960. Graca has two children, daughter Jozina and son Malnga. She is step-mother to her first husband's five children.

Occupations: Nelson: Former President of South Africa, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993, attorney, former President of African national Congress, author, speaker, and anti-apartheid activist . Graca : Chairperson of the National Organization of Children of Mozambique, President of the Foundation of Community Development, Minister for Education and Culture in Mozambique, attorney, children's advocate, trained guerrilla, and school teacher. Residence: Graca and Nelson live in rural South Africa . Previous Marriages: Nelson had two previous marriages: "Evelyn Mandela gives her husband an ultimatum to choose between her or the ANC. She is also distressed about rumours that Mandela has relations with other women. In December, while Mandela is imprisoned for two weeks, she moves out of their home. He finds the house empty when he is released on bail." Source: "South African History Online . SAHistory.org.za. 06/1955. Evelyn Ntoko Mase: Evelyn was born in 1922 in Transkei, South Africa. Evelyn was a nursing student living in Johannesburg at the time of their marriage.

Nelson and Evelyn were married on July 15, 1944 in a civil ceremony at the Native Commissioner's Court in Johannesburg. The marriage ended in 1957 due to irreconcilable differences . Evelyn remarried at the age of seventy-seven. She died in 2004 at the age of 82 from a respiratory illness. She was buried in Johannesburg. Nelson and Graca attended her funeral as well as Winnie. Nomzamo Winnie Madikizela: Winnie, a social worker, and Nelson met during his treason trial. They married on June 14, 1958 in Bizana. Their wedding at a local church was attended by a few close friends and family, followed by a celebration later at the home of Winnie's eldest brother. Winnie and Nelson didn't have a honeymoon. The couple separated in April 1992 and later divorced in March 1996.

Nelson Mandela marries Graça Machel on his 80th birthday | South African History Online South African History Online Home » Nelson Mandela marries Graça Machel on his 80th birthday Nelson Mandela marries Graça Machel on his 80th birthday Nelson Mandela and Graça Mandela Image source Saturday, 18 July 1998 Nelson Mandela first married in 1944. He and his wife Evelyn had 2 children and divorced in 1957. A year later, he married Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. Their marriage survived his 27 years in prison, but ended in divorce in 1996. Shortly after his release from prison, Mandela met Graça Machel , the widow of former Mozambican president, Samora Machel . Apart from her involvement in the Mozambican liberation struggle, Graca Machel is known as an international advocate for women and child rights, and had headed the first United Nations study on the impact of war on children. The couple decided to tie the knot on Nelson Mandela's 80th birthday. Their marriage was announced at his birthday celebration, which was attended by 2,000 international guests.

References: • Graighall Wallis, F. (2000) Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, BBC News | Africa | Graca Machel - profile Saturday, July 18, 1998 Published at 23:22 GMT 00:22 UK World: Africa Graca Machel - profile Graca Machel has a long political record Although Graca Machel has married one of the world's best known statesmen, at 52 she has a record as a political heavy weight in her own right. The widow of the founding president of Mozambique, Samora Machel, she joined the independence struggle, later rising to become a government minister. Since the death of her husband in a mysterious plane crash in 1986, she has campaigned vigorously on behalf of the world's children and for human rights. At ease in the gaze of the world's media Last December she gave her support to a commemorative programme marking the 50th anniversary of the universal declaration of human rights.

She defined her support as a part of lifetime commitment: "It is the meaning of what my life has been since a youth - to try to fight for the dignity and the freedom of my own people." She is at ease on the world stage and, since stories of their romantic involvement was confirmed two years ago, has accompanied Mr Mandela on official visits abroad. Nelson Mandela: "She changed my life" Wedding plans have been a constant line of inquiry for the world's media on these occasions, but Graca Machel had a way of deflecting enquiries with a smile leaving Mr Mandela to comment. On a recent visit to Britain he joked: "It is not something you discuss with journalists." Now, with marriage apparently sealing Mr Mandela's commitment to retire from South African politics, it may be that Graca Machel takes on the role as the high profile partner. Who Is Nelson Mandela’s Wife? | News One Who Is Nelson Mandela’s Wife? Written By NewsOne Staff Leave a comment 16 reads Who is Nelson Mandela ’s wife? Nelson Mandela is married to Graca Machel, his third wife.

Nelson Mandela married Machel on July 18, 1998—his 80th birthday—just over two years after divorcing his second wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, who he married in 1958. The famed South African leader and anti- apartheid crusader had two of his six children with Winnie—both daughters (Zenani and Zindziswa, or Zindizi), both still alive. RELATED: How Many Kids Does Nelson Mandela Have? Nelson Mandela married his first wife, Evelyn Ntoko Mase, in 1944, and before the couple divorced in March 1958, they had four children, only of one of whom—daughter Makiziwe—is still alive. Who is Nelson Mandela’s wife? Graca Machel was born in 1945, and from 1975 to 1986, before tying the knot with Nelson Mandela and becoming First Lady of South Africa, she was married for just over 10 years—November 1975 to October 1986—to Samora Machel, president of Mozambique.

That gives Graca Machel the distinction of being the only woman in history to have been first lady of two nations, according to the Guinness World Records website . RELATED: Nelson Mandela Rushed To Hospital, In ‘Serious Condition’ Nelson Mandela’s wife, Graca Machel , is known as a politician and humanitarian, and after working as a schoolteacher (she hold a bachelor’s degree in German philosophy from the University of Lisbon), she served as Minister of Education and Culture of Mozambique, holding the post until 1989. After Samora Machel died in a plane crash in 1986, Graca “threw even greater energies into her country’s development and intensified her work on behalf of children world-wide,” according to the official website of the Foundation for Community Development, for which she serves as president . Nelson Mandela’s wife was famous for good works even before marrying South Africa’s first black president, and in 1992, The Hunger Project awarded her its Laureate of Africa Prize for Leadership for the Sustainable End of Hunger. Three years later, she was given the Nansen Medal in honor of her work on behalf of refugee children.

In 1997, having been tapped by the United Nations to serve as chairperson of the Study on the Impact of Armed Conflict of Children, Graca Machel won a humanitarian award from InterAction, according to UNFoundation.org . RELATED: Michelle Obama Meets Nelson Mandela In South Africa “Who is Nelson Mandela’s wife” is a question many have asked since June 8, 2013, when the 94-year-old civil-rights icon was admitted to a hospital with a lung infection. Nelson Mandela was said to be in “serious but stable” condition, according to the BBC , and Graca Machel cancelled a scheduled appearance in London to be by his bedside. Quiet dignity raises Graça Machel, wife of Nelson Mandela, above feuds - Telegraph Nelson Mandela Quiet dignity raises Graça Machel, wife of Nelson Mandela, above feuds As the family of Nelson Mandela tears itself apart, one woman is keeping her silence – and with it her dignity - Graça Machel, the 67-year-old third wife of the stricken former South African president.

Nelson Mandela and his wife Graca Machel, followed by his grandson Zuko Dani (2nd R), arriving in Mvezo at a ceremony to install his grandson as chief of the Mvezo Traditional Council. Photo: AFP/Getty Images Follow She has kept vigil by his bedside at a hospital in Pretoria for the last month, saying almost nothing to the outside world. Reports of her husband's condition vary wildly, with court papers suggesting that Mr Mandela was in a "permanent vegetative state" and members of the family had been advised to switch off his life-support machine. However, this has been denied by Jacob Zuma, the current South African president, who continues to insist that his predecessor's health is "critical but stable". He is urging South Africans to prepare to celebrate Mr Mandela's 95th birthday on July 18. But even as the mound of floral tributes outside the hospital grows every day, Mandela family members have chosen to fight each other in court and in the media for the right to control his name, legacy and final resting place. Related Articles Mandela can be uncomfortable but is seldom in pain, says wife 04 Jul 2013 Tribal elders say they are upsetting the ancestors.

Former allies in the African National Congress accuse them of undermining all that the great leader stood for. "Please, please, please may we think not only of ourselves?" said Archbishop Desmond Tutu, on Friday . Using the clan name for his fellow Nobel laureate, he said: "It is almost like spitting in Madiba's face." In contrast, Archbishop Tutu told The Sunday Telegraph that Graça Machel was "a strong woman of enormous stature. But graciousness is the first word that comes to mind when one thinks of her: gracious wife, gracious feminist, gracious human being. "Gracious, but not to be trifled with or underestimated." She has rarely been seen outside the hospital since her husband was admitted with a lung infection on June 8. Indeed, she did not even feel able to leave his side to meet Barack Obama, the president of the United States, who was in town last week. The 67-year-old Mozambican is a formidable political operator. She served as a minister in her own country for many years and was married to President Samora Machel before his death in a suspicious plane accident in 1986.

When she married Nelson Mandela in 1998, Graça Machel became the first person to act as First Lady to two presidents. So it may not have been coincidence that she chose to make a rare public appearance on Thursday, with a few words about charity and unity, just as the Mandela family row over graves was reaching a bizarre climax. Mrs Machel took to the podium briefly at the launch of a sporting event for the Nelson Mandela Foundation. "Although Madiba sometimes may be uncomfortable, very few times he is in pain, but he is fine," she said. "I think the best gift which he has given this nation again is the gift of unity." Urging people to donate money to build a children's hospital rather than buying flowers, she expressed thanks for the way rich and poor, young and old had united around her husband. "That's what he wanted." Even as she finished her short speech, Mr Mandela's eldest grandson was raging against the rest of the family as the grave row intensified. Mandla Mandela faces criminal charges of illegally tampering with graves after he moved the bodies of three of his grandfather's children to his own village of Mvezo without seeking permission from the rest of the family.

Makaziwe Mandela, the eldest daughter, has fronted the court case against her nephew, and has also fought a separate case to have former advisers of Mr Mandela removed from the boards of trusts that manage income from the sale of his paintings. That fight is not about money, she says, but about the right of family members to control what is done in the Mandela name. However, the commercial use of that name could earn tens of millions of pounds after his death. Meanwhile, Nelson Mandela's second wife Winnie has sought to position herself as the voice of the Mandelas, as she was during his long years in prison. She describes herself as "the senior member of this family" and Mr Mandela as "our husband", despite divorcing in 1996. There is a fortune at stake for whoever controls the Mandela name, but Graça Machel needs no part of it. She is a wealthy woman, with her own home and a stake in an investment company in Mozambique. Born in rural Mozambique, she was the daughter of a farmer and miner. She escaped poverty through a Methodist school education, studying philosophy in Portugal and then a law degree.

She was as radical a revolutionary as Winnie Mandela in her youth, learning to strip a rifle in Frelimo, the Mozambican Liberation Front. After independence in 1975, Graça became the country's first education minister and married Samora Machel, its new president. Among the letters of condolence that she received after his death was one from Nelson Mandela, who was still in jail. She wrote back: "From within your vast prison, you brought a ray of light in my hour of darkness." The relationship became serious after his divorce. They were married on his 80th birthday. She was 52. Lately, she has also begun to assert her political views. In March she warned that South Africa was an "angry country" being brought to the brink of "something very dangerous" by increasing levels of violence. Now the nation feels for her. There is growing respect for her, even as there is growing dismay at the way the Mandelas are behaving. She has nothing to prove to anyone. Few of the Mandelas can say the same. How many times did Nelson Mandela marry? How many times did Nelson Mandela marry?

Answers (1) by Lucy 3 years ago Nelson Mandela was married three times – his wives were called Evelyn, Winnie and Graca. Originally it was expected that Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela would marry young. His family had been a respected one with royal connections, but had become much poorer. Nelson Mandela was able to go to school and afterwards to Fort Hare University, but did not finish his degree as, even at this early age, he was actively involved in politics and was expelled for joining a student protest. So after this, the senior members of his family decided it would be best for him, and a cousin who was also involved in the rebellion, to settle down near his family (in the Transkei region of South Africa) and have an arranged marriage, rather than taking any more money for education. However, Mandela and his cousin were determined to avoid marriage and a settled life at this point, so they stole a pair of oxen, sold them and used the money to help pay for a law course in Johannesburg; this started Mandela on his career of working for the anti-apartheid struggle. In fact his first marriage took place about 4 years after this, in 1944 when Mandela was 26.

He married Evelyn Mase, a nurse from a family who were also involved in political activism, though she herself wasn’t very interested in politics. They had four children, two boys and two girls, but one of the girls died young. Over the years the marriage came under strain as Mandela became more and more involved in politics, especially after joining the ANC (African National Congress). Eventually Evelyn divorced her husband in 1958, citing adultery as the reason – he was by this time involved with Winnie Madikizela who would later become his second wife. Evelyn brought up the children herself, eventually dying in 2004. Nomzamo Winfreda Madikizela was born in 1936, making her much younger than her husband who was born in 1918. She was and is politically active in her own right, and when she first met Mandela in 1957 had completed a degree in social work. They began an affair almost at once and married soon after his divorce from Evelyn in 1958.

In the next two years they had two daughters, but their married life effectively ended in 1963 when he was imprisoned by the South African government, in a sentence that would eventually last for 27 years. In those years Winnie Mandela acted as her husband’s spokesperson and representative as well as becoming a famous anti-apartheid campaigner in her own name. There were a number of controversies associated with her campaign, as she was often accused of using violent tactics. She and her colleagues were even accused of murder, and she did receive a jail sentence at one time, but didn’t serve it and most charges were dropped. When Nelson Mandela was released in 1990, the marriage, which had survived his imprisonment, did not last long and they divorced in 1992. They continued to be friends and Winnie has also been on friendly terms with Mandela’s third wife. He married Graca Machel in 1998. Born in 1945, she is a politician from Mozambique, and mainly continued to live there throughout their marriage. She is now Minister for Education in Mozambique.

Although there was a big difference in age and the couple had to spend a lot of time apart due to their work, the marriage is said to have been a very happy one. At Nelson Mandela’s funeral his second and third wives were seen hugging and comforting each other. You can read more about Mandela’ public and private life here . Related Questions Profile of Graça Machel, Nelson Mandela's Third Wife Profile of Graça Machel, Nelson Mandela's Third Wife December 7, 2013 17:07 GMT Graca Machel, wife of former South African president Nelson Mandela. Many people were close to Nelson Mandela, and one of the people who knew him best is his widow, Graça Machel, a former guerrilla fighter and humanitarian worker. Graça Machel married 80-year-old Mandela two years after his divorce from second wife, Winnie, in 1998. According to Anthony Sampson's book, Mandela: The Authorised Biography: "they were married in the new house [in Houghton], Mandela in a gold-patterned open shirt, Graça wearing a long white dress with wide puffed sleeves, Elizabethan-style.

"They were blessed beforehand by the Chief Rabbi, and also by the Muslim Sheikh Nazim Mohammed and the Hindu Mrs Nanachene. They were married by a Methodist Bishop, Myume Dandala - since they had both been brought up as Methodists, assisted by Desmond Tutu." The wedding reception for Nelson and Graça was combined with Nelson's birthday party at the Gallagher Convention Centre in South Africa. There were 2,000 guests including Michael Jackson, Danny Glover and Stevie Wonder. Their courtship was far from a whirlwind romance, taking time to grow. With characteristic candour, Machel told a Portuguese newspaper that, as with her first husband: "Nelson and I were together some time before love came. It wasn't love at first sight. No, with me, things don't happen like that." However, Machel "wasn't pushy about being the new Mrs Mandela," said Charlayne Hunter-Gault, a former American journalist based in Johannesburg, quoted in the Washington Post.

"She didn't flaunt it, and she showed a lot of respect for the feelings of people in South Africa." Machel was born Graça Simbine on 17 October 1945 on the coast of Mozambique, under Portuguese rule. Machel, whose father died before her birth, won a scholarship to high school in Mozambique's capital, Maputo, where she was the only black African in a class of white students. She is also fluent in French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and English, as well as her native Tsonga. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (R) with Nelson Mandela, former president of South Africa, and his wife Graca Machel (L). Her experiences at school influenced her later political beliefs. "Why is it that I'm made to feel strange in my own country? They're the foreigners, not me. Something is wrong here," Machel later said in interview with The Guardian. She trained as a guerrilla fighter with the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique, and she married Samora Machel, the movement's leader. He was killed in a plane crash over South Africa in 1986. Mandela wrote to her from jail, offering condolences.

Machel replied: "From within your vast prison, you brought a ray of light in my hour of darkness." After Mozambique won independence from Portugal, Graça became the education minister and played a key role in boosting the nation's literacy rate. She has won many awards for her humanitarian activities, such as the Laureate of Africa Prize for Leadership for the Sustainable End of Hunger in 1992, and the Nansen Medal for her contribution to the welfare of refugee children in 1995. Machel once talked about being married to two leaders who played vital roles in the history of two African nations: "It's not two leaders who fell in love with me, but two real people.

I feel privileged that I have shared my life with two such exceptional men." Share Stay up to date with our daily newsletter YOU MIGHT LIKE THISSponsored Content by Taboola IBT Video Mandela and much-loved wife mark wedding anniversary | Fox News Mandela and much-loved wife mark wedding anniversary Published July 18, 2013 Facebook 0 Twitter 0 Email Print Nelson Mandela and Graca Machel in Houghton, a suburb of Johannesburg, on September 8, 1996 shortly after Mandela had revealed his love for Machel. As Nelson Mandela turns 95 on Thursday he also marks 15 years of marriage to Graca Machel, who throughout his hospitalisation has wooed a nation with her dignified poise. (AFP/File) Nelson Mandela and Graca Machel greet fans before the 2010 World Cup final in Soccer City, Soweto. During the last six weeks Machel has kept a near round-the-clock vigil at her husband's hospital bedside, leaving to attend Mandela's charity events or visit their Johannesburg home. (AFP/File) Nelson Mandela at home with Graca Machel in May 2011 after Mandela cast his vote in local elections.

Machel married Mandela in 1998, 12 years after her first husband, Mozambique's former president Samora Machel, died in a mysterious plane crash. (South African government/AFP/File) Previous Next JOHANNESBURG (AFP) – As Nelson Mandela turns 95 on Thursday he also marks 15 years of marriage to Graca Machel, who throughout his hospitalisation has wooed a nation with her dignified poise. During the last six weeks Machel has kept a near round-the-clock vigil at her husband's hospital bedside, leaving to attend Mandela's charity events or visit their Johannesburg home. But then the Mozambican born Machel, 27 years younger, has already been by Mandela's side for 15 years of marriage. "We make sure we spend time with each other because we were so lonely before. You only live once," she remarked before the ravages of time tightened their grip on her husband. Machel married Mandela in 1998, 12 years after her first husband, Mozambique's former president Samora Machel, died in a mysterious plane crash.

At that time Mandela had been divorced from his second wife Winnie for two years, but estranged by time and prison for three decades. "When I am alone, I am very weak," South Africa's first black president said when discussing Machel in 2007. On the cusp of their anniversary, Mandela's close friend and lawyer George Bizos described them as "a loving couple." "They are very happy together," he told AFP, adding Machel "is dedicated to the well being of her husband Nelson. It's commonly known that she spends a long time at his bedside." While South Africa's revered former statesman battles to recover, Machel has been notably absent from the unseemly squabbles rocking the Mandela family. As she prepares for the dreaded, yet inevitable, she has largely stayed out of the public eye. But at one charity event she gave a rare, but desperately awaited, first-hand account of Mandela's condition. He was, she said, at times uncomfortable, he had seldom been in pain. Last week she sounded an even more upbeat tone, saying she was now less anxious about his health. The two met in the early 1990s and fast became friends.

As Mandela's second marriage withered their relationship grew. Eventually, after being spotted at several events holding hands and even stealing a kiss at Robert Mugabe's wedding, the presidency declared Machel was officially Mandela's companion. Despite her remarkable intellect and impressive history of work promoting literacy, the bespectacled Machel attracted her share of scepticism from South Africans. This, after all, was a nation used to the flamboyant Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, who even joined in the fray mocking her as Mandela's "concubine." At their wedding on July 18, 1998, archbishop emeritus Desmond Tutu said Machel had "made a decent man out of" Mandela. He would later say that "South Africans owe Graca Machel a tremendous debt of gratitude for the joy she has brought to Nelson Mandela since their marriage." As Mandela grew frailer Machel began to shield him from the ugly family feuds and unwanted attention. "He is an avid TV watcher and newspaper and magazine reader, and she carefully protects him from any publicity which would disturb him," said Bizos.

"She is very caring, she doesn't want him to be exposed to any unpleasant reports." An independent woman, who wears a broad smile and sports a short afro, Machel chose to keep her former husband's surname after she married Mandela. She has refused to paint Mandela as a "saint" saying he is "just a human being who is simple and gentle." She is in the book of Guinness world records as the first woman to be first lady of two different countries. Born in Mozambique's Gaza province to a humble rural family, she is the last of six children. She never saw her Methodist lay priest father, who was a migrant worker and died three weeks before she was born. She won a Methodist church scholarship to study at Lisbon University where she cut her teeth in political activism against Portuguese colonialism. Machel joined the liberation war movement Frelimo and received military training in Tanzania in the 1970s. She later became education minister in independent Mozambique. She has now become a global humanitarian and political heavyweight and an internationally sought after speaker. In 2010 Time magazine named her among the world's 100 most influential people.

A UN expert on children in armed conflict, she is also leading a global campaign against child brides. She is fluent in English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and her native Tsonga. ...,/., Graça Simbine Machel | South African History Online South African History Online Home » Biographies » Graça Simbine Machel Graça Simbine Machel Posted by Anonymous (not verified) on People category: Biographical information Synopsis: Deputy Director of the Frelimo Secondary School in Tanzania, member of Frelimo's Central Committee and the Minister of Education and Culture in Mozambique, Chairperson of the National Organization of Children of Mozambique. First name: Location of birth: Gaza, Mozambique Graça Simbine Machel was born on 17 October 1945, in Gaza, Mozambique, the last in a family of six children. Her father, a Methodist minister who had died three weeks before she was born, left explicit instructions that her older siblings were to see her through high school. After that, a church-based scholarship made it possible for her to attend Lisbon University (Portugal) in 1968, to major in languages.

Under surveillance from the Portuguese secret police, she was forced to abandon her education and flee to Switzerland to escape the prison sentence that was almost certainly waiting for her due to her political activities as a student. In 1973, while she was in Europe she joined the Marxist-based Mozambican Liberation Front (FRELIMO), an organised resistance movement that was steadily gaining ground in the struggle against colonialism from the Portuguese. When Machel arrived in Tanzania from Europe, she found an efficiently run FRELIMO headquarters operation, as well as storage facilities, supply routes, and two training camps, one run by Chinese instructors, the other by Russians. She underwent military training and learnt how to take an assault rifle apart and put it back together. Subsequently, she spent a short period in Mozambique's Cabo Delgado Province, where she met Samora Machel , the FRELIMO commander who later became her husband. In September 1975, she married Samora Machel, the first president of newly independent Mozambique.

She also became a willing stepmother to her husband's five children by his first companion, Sorita, and his first wife, Josina, who had died of leukaemia in 1971, after scarcely two years of marriage. Samora and Graca Machel have two children of their own. During the war for independence from the Portuguese rule, FRELIMO set up schools in liberated territories and within their training camps in neighbouring Tanzania. Machel participated in the armed struggle, and she was appointed Deputy Director of the Frelimo Secondary School at Bagamoyo, Tanzania, in 1974. When Mozambique became independent and FRELIMO formed the country’s first government in 1975, Machel became a member of Frelimo's Central Committee and the Minister of Education and Culture. As Minister for Education until 1989, Graça Machel worked to implement FRELIMO's goal of universal education for all Mozambicans. From 1975 to 1985, the number of students enrolled in primary and secondary schools rose from about 40 percent of all school-aged children to over 90 percent for males and 75 percent for females.

Machel is recognised for her dedication to educating the people of Mozambique, and for her leadership in organisations devoted to the children of her war-torn country. She has been a major force in increasing literacy and schooling in Mozambique and has spoken of the needs and rights of children, families and community, from platforms all over the world. Following President Machel’s death in a plane crash on 19 October 1986, she resigned her post as Minister of Education, leaving behind a sterling record-1.5 million children in school, as against 400,000 when she had arrived. As Minister of Education to the new government, she was able to reduce the illiteracy rate by 72%. Machel has striven for peace and reconciliation in her country, and has attempted to further Mozambique's reconstruction and development efforts. As President of the Foundation of Community Development, she has facilitated greater community access to knowledge and technology and patterns of sustainable human development. In recognition of the particular devastation of war on children, Machel became Chairperson of the National Organization of Children of Mozambique, an organization that places orphans in village homes while reinforcing the role of the family and community in the healing process.

Machel worked closely with families in her efforts to rehabilitate children, and to empower Mozambican women. Machel has also participated in international fora, as a delegate to the 1988 UNICEF conference in Harare, Zimbabwe, and as the President of the National Commission of UNESCO in Mozambique. In addition to her many contributions, Machel also served on the international steering committee of the World Conference on Education for All, held in 1990. As chair of Mozambique's National Organization of Children and president of the country's UNESCO commission, Machel was asked to chair a study to assist young victims of Mozambique’s civil war that was published by the United Nations (UN) on 11 November 1996. Machel's recommendations for rehabilitation called on UNICEF to begin resettling all displaced children, and to start funds specifically for their re-education. Machel's report also focused on landmines. Her report endorsed the idea that humanitarian mine clearance should become a routine part of all peace agreements, and that the countries, which have profited from the manufacture and sale of these lethal weapons should bear the huge cost of their removal.

She was appointed by the Secretary General of the United Nations as an Expert to Chair the Study on the Impact of Armed Conflict on Children. The Study on the Impact of Armed Conflict on Children, the first of its kind in the history on the United Nations, demonstrated to the world community the necessity of adopting effective measures for the promotion and protection of the rights of the children who are victims of armed conflicts, and to stimulate much greater international action to this end. Machel is President of the Foundation for Community Development (FDC), a not”for”profit organisation,she founded in 1994. FDC makes grants to civil society organisations to strengthen communities, facilitate social and economic justice and assist in the reconstruction and development of post war Mozambique. In the 1990s, the friendship between Graca and Nelson Mandela , President of South Africa, whom Machel has known since her husband's death deepened. The couple married on 18 July 1998. Over the years, Machel has gained international recognition for her achievements.

Her many awards include the Laureate of Africa Prize for Leadership for the Sustainable End of Hunger from the Hunger Project in 1992 and in 1995 the Nansen Medal in recognition of her contribution to the welfare of refugee children. She has received the Inter Press Service’s (IPS) International Achievement Award for her work on behalf of children internationally, the Africare Distinguished Humanitarian Service Award and the North-South Prize of the Council of Europe, among others. In 2008, the University of Barcelona, Spain, awarded a Doctor Honoris Causa to Machel. She has served on the boards of numerous international organisations, including the UN Foundation, the Forum of African Women Educationalists, the African Leadership Forum and the International Crisis Group. Among her many commitments, she is Chair of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization Fund, Chancellor of the University of Cape Town, South Africa and a Panel Member of the African Peer Review Mechanism.

References: • Kituo Cha Katiba, Graça Simbine Machel from the Eastern Africa Centre for Constitutional Development, [online], Available at [Accessed on 14 June 2013] • The Hunger Project, Graça Simbine Machel , [online], from The Hunger Project, Available at [Accessed on 14 June 2013] • Accord, (2013), Trustees Mrs. Graça Machel , from Accord Website, [online], Available at [Accessed on 19 June 2013]

Question: Who married Graca Machel in 1998?
Answer: NELSON MANDELA